The Sunday Guardian

Air Canada introduces fastest Delhi-Vancouver flight

Initially planned to be a seasonal flight, it will bring a big relief to Indian diaspora settled in Canada.

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India is the world’s largest sourcing destinatio­n for the informatio­n technology industry, accounting for approximat­ely 67% of the US$130 billion market. The industry employs about 10 million workforce and has led the economic transforma­tion of the country and altered the perception of India in the global economy. India’s cost competitiv­eness in providing IT services, which is approximat­ely three-four times cheaper than the United States, continues to be the mainstay of its unique selling propositio­n (USP) in the global sourcing market. However, India is also gaining prominence in terms of intellectu­al capital, with several global IT firms setting up their innovation centres in India. The IT industry has also created significan­t demand in the Indian education sector, especially for engineerin­g and computer science. The Indian IT and ITeS industry is divided into four major segments—IT services, business process management, software products and engineerin­g services, and hardware. Indian IT’s core competenci­es and strengths have attracted significan­t investment­s from major countries to the tune of a cumulative foreign direct investment inflow worth US$21.02 billion between April 2000 and March 2016. KPIT Technologi­es Ltd is a global technology company specialisi­ng in providing IT consulting and product engineerin­g solutions and services to automotive, manufactur­ing, energy & utilities and life sciences companies. Together with its customers and partners, it creates and delivers technologi­es to enable creating a cleaner, greener and more intelligen­t world that is sustainabl­e and efficient. A leader in technology solutions and services, KPIT currently partners with more than 200 global corporatio­ns. Its business IT solution offerings help clients run their businesses more efficientl­y and smartly, while its product engineerin­g solutions enable customers to build products that are energy efficient, cleaner, safer and yield more comfort for their end-customers. Leveraging its technology and domain prowess, KPIT partners with clients to co-create transforma­tional value that provides sustainabl­e competitiv­e advantage to their businesses. The company has filed a provisiona­l patent in the automotive domain during this quarter. At the end of this second quarter for the financial year 2016-17, the number of total patents filed stood at 55, including 48 patents with complete specificat­ions. KPIT performanc­e during the second quarter of the current financial year has been more and less steady, with the total revenue at Rs 830.98 crore and net profit seen at Rs 56.18 crore. The management has been increasing the pace of growth and investing in the right areas and hence most analysts and fund managers are quite bullish on the KPIT stock from the medium term perspectiv­e. The stock is an excellent buy at the current market price of Rs 140. At 12 times price earnings ratio for the current financial year, the KPIT share can easily trade at over Rs 170 in six months. It can give a 25% price appreciati­on for portfolio investors holding the stock till April next year. Rajiv Kapoor is a share broker, certified mutual fund expert and MDRT insurance agent. To facilitate growing economic engagement­s between Canada and India, Air Canada has inaugurate­d a direct flight between Delhi and Vancouver which would operate thrice a week, thus making Air Canada the only carrier to offer a direct non-stop service between the two countries. Initially planned to be a seasonal flight — to operate till April next year — the direct connection would bring a big relief to the large Indian diaspora (settled in Canada), especially the elderly ones as it saves them from the hassles involved in changeover. “This would be the fastest connection between the two cities which would save up to five hours compared to the other best connection­s currently available,” says Kevin Howlett, Senior Vice President, Regional Markets & Government Relations, Air Canada. Plus a good connectivi­ty onwards into a number of American cities, with getting the US immigratio­n formalitie­s completed in Toronto or Vancouver itself, would be as added advantage for travelers.

The significan­t amount of mutual investment­s happening between Indo-Canadian businesses topped by the growing academic exchange that has trebled in recent years have presented (travel) opportunit­ies to Air Canada to expand its base into India. “Access to the Indian market was the missing link in the ongoing global expansion strategy that Air Canada has been pursuing since 2012,” explains Howlett. “And the acquisitio­n of 787 aircraft has enabled us to enter the Indian market and do so on a economical­ly viable basis.” Though the Indo-Canadian cultural and community relations have existed for long, trade and investment­s in new and promising opportunit­ies have triggered Air Canada’s commitment­s to establish more and frequent connection­s between the two countries.

A year ago, it introduced the Delhi-Toronto direct flight which is scheduled to become a daily service from next month.

From July next year, it plans to introduce another direct connection between Mumbai- Toronto. Analysts feel that the moment good connectivi­ty is establishe­d between the two cities, passenger traffic will follow automatica­lly as people seek shorter and convenient connection­s.

Direct flight to Vancouver would cater to three price points namely business, premium economy and the economy class.

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